The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

We listened to music in your dorm room early into the morning as the empathogens from the night faded. You played this Lauren Hill album. We talked about family. We talked about friends. We talked about love. We talked about your early life in Botswana. When the song To Zion came on, we became silent as it felt like the world stopped for us to listen. It was the most beautiful song I had heard. Soon the dorm came to life and it was time for me to go. That was our first and last time meeting. It was my first and last time listening to this song. It was the last time until today. This was the most beautiful song I've heard. I can't remember being this touched by a song before. Ten stars.

avoids melody like she avoids tax

This album was everywhere when it was released, the hype was crazy. It was hailed as this ground breaking thing, the best of the best, it won all the awards. It's decent enough, a fairly pleasant listen, but I never did understand why all the over the top praise for it. It's fine.

Went on for too long.

Listened to tool instead

Lauryn Hill is iconic in her genre, and this is her most iconic album. A great inspiration for a lot of RnB and Hip Hop artists in the 00s and 10s. Many people may dislike the skits, but it adds to the narrative here, which has a complex backdrop of different samples and instruments, overlayed on hard kicks and beats that you expect from Hip Hop / R n B. All of it blends to give a truly 00s sound ahead of it's time. I could give a break down of every song but it would take too many words. Just know that there is a lot of range here, there is everything from acoustic guitar and gospel over beats, to more funky soulful tracks. I love this album if you haven't noticed already.

Nowhere near as good as people think it is. 3 or 4 decent songs the rest is filler. A bang average R&B album.

Great stuff. A great mix of different genres. Heard elements of Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Bob Marley etc. It's got really good flow throughout the whole album too. Ex Factor and Doo Wop stand out but no miss on the whole album. A shame it was her only solo studio album, maybe she felt like she couldn't top it.

A real struggle to get through. Headache-inducing and painful to listen to (not in a good way). Faves-Forgive Them Father slightly less grating than some of the others. Actually, second half of the album may be a little less irritating. Still absolutely hated it, overall.

Really disappointed with this, expected it to blow me away but found it mostly annoying

By 1998, I was pretty much out of tune with a lot of mainstream American culture. Obviously, not to the point where I didn’t know who Lauryn Hill or the Fugees were, this record and The Score were massively popular among my peers at my Catholic high school, but I was going to see punk and hardcore shows for $5 or $7 at the local VFW. The idea of following what was popular or which star was on top week to week was futile and uninteresting to me. It’s just not the lane I operated in. Still isn’t, as a matter of fact. So, as I listen to this record, I’m finding it well crafted, well performed (I always thought Lauryn Hill had a fantastic voice) and engaging. It has held up extremely well for a 25 year old record. It’s definitely enjoyable and I understand why it was and still is considered great. I think maybe the classroom interstitial breaks are a little overdone and the flow of the record is stilted as a result, but that’s a minor complaint. The thing is, music like this doesn’t really resonate with me like it does for a lot of the world. I don’t know why that is. I love a lot of hip hop, r&b, and soul music. It is something I think about a lot: what is it about some well produced, objectively great popular music that doesn’t move the needle for me? Maybe it’s that even when it’s making a bold statement like the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill does, it still feels…kind of safe? That could be a great strength, though, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. (Huh, wow…that metaphor literally just came up in “Forgive them Father” - I might be closer to the truth than I thought). Maybe I need to take that view for a record like this. Yes, it is designed to appeal to as many people as possible, but it’s got a message that subverts and questions cultural norms…and that is an important an admirable trait for a record to have.

starts off sounding like lofi then becomes funny woman rap..... k. second track pretty good. i guess the third track is ok. fith track is shit :). everything lowkey starting to sound the same. track 12 has a good backing i wanna say its a violoin but like its ruined by shit and isnt enough. holy shit too many repeated lrlishs please help stop -please. right i know you baught a drum mechiene but i dont care please use somehting elese please. the ends allright i guess but still shit album shit house 0/10. but accualy its fine i guess not my thing but yea still personlay its a but too much of the same and becasue its stuff of the same that i dont reely like its not good so still 2/10

Doo Wop (that thing) is a cracking track... The rest of this album gets boring real quick. Urgh. The cover songs are genuinely awful.

I had my expectations set way too high for this one. It has some really lovely moments but you have to sit through some really boring moments to get to them. I will try revisiting when I'm stoned later and see if that changes anything.

Not a fan of this, I'm getting bored listening to it.

I remember this being really popular when it came out, but I thought it was shit. It was everywhere for some reason. Yeah, still shit. Just boring rap/r&b, riddled with dumb skits and of fucking COURSE it goes for over an hour. Didn't anyone in this genre take any interest in quality control after about 1993? Fuck's sake. 2/5.

Way worse than I remembered it to be

Could this album be any longer? I get that this is a progressive album hearing life perspectives from the female side, and the whole classroom vibe at the end of some of the songs being about learning fitting into the vibe of the album cover and title. But sheesh it gave me a headache and almost put me to sleep at work. Any way something could have been cut from it's 77 minute track list? Best: Can't Take My Eyes Off You (I Love You Baby) Worst: When It Hurts So Bad

This album is a masterpiece. Lauryn Hill's transcendent talent is on full display with top notch songwriting, beat-making, arranging, lyricism, singing, and rapping. The music is personal, political, and utterly self-assured. Her blend of hip hop innovation and classic soul/pop sensibilities has left a monumental legacy evident in artists ranging from Kayne West to Janelle Monae. Favourite track: Too many to name, but I can never get enough of "Ex-Factor"

Most overrated album of the last decades

made my morning feel like a month

Still probably the best female MC of all time. This album is fantastic in about every way. Lauryn is also the most equal in talent between rapping and singing

Modern classic. Perfect blend of neo-soul and rap. All the singles are fantastic, especially Everything Is Everything

A great mix of hip-hop with R&B, soul and reggae. This is such a confident and skillful debut and has a great legacy for a very good reason

Woooooahhhhhh wooooaaaahhhhhh one star

I bought tickets to Soulfest 2015 in Sydney almost solely because Lauryn Hill was scheduled. I was devastated when the festival was cancelled a week out. But earlier this year I saw Lauryn Hill perform a Miseducation 25th anniversary show in Sydney. She had the flu and almost no voice. She apologized profusely, sang mostly in her lower register, and by the end of the show her rapping sounded like a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. But Lauryn Hill on her worst day (and I'm sure she would think this was one of her worst shows) was awesome. She gave a performance that left everything out on the floor. She was gracious, generous, and giving to the audience. I am firmly of the belief that Lauryn hill is one of the great artist of our time, and that is mainly on the basis of this album. The songwriting is personal without being self-obsessed, and covers an encyclopedia of emotions. The tunes are great. She can sing like an angel, and her flow is outstanding. There is so much in here, Even the deep cuts are gems that offer up a lot. I often drop 'Lost Ones' into my DJ sets; it wasn't a hit, but it bangs. This album helped restore my faith in hip-hop, after nearly a decade of increasingly violent gangsta albums. I could live without the skits (a common complaint with hip hop albums), but otherwise, this is as close to perfect album as I could imagine. I could listen to it every day. At the show, she did say she had more music and that it would get released, and I really hope that is true. Miseducation is a wonderful album encompassing the concerns of a young woman, and Lauryn Hill has a place in history even if she never releases another else. But I believe that she has another album this good in her that could speak to her experiences as a more mature woman. I would _love_ to hear that. I hope we all get to hear it. Can't wait.

Pre listening - I'm not going to like this. I detest rap and dislike hip hop - I hope this is better than that. Track 1 - Intro - 40 seconds and not even a pretence of bring music Track 2 - Lost Ones - Standard hip hop - awful Track 3 - Ex-Factor - OK song, but with really annoying sound efects added - why? Track 4 - To Zion - A Santana collaboration - which is to say pure Carlos Santana - average for him Track 5 - Doo Wop(That Thing) More hip hop - slightly better than Lost Ones Track 6 - Superstar yet more Hip Hop - irritating At this point I stopped. She obviously is a hip hop artist, which is a shame because from what I heard she has good voice, just needs some real music

really not a fan. two stars? i made it through, but barely.

Didn't like it at first, but it's a masterpiece

Classic for a reason

amazing. a cultural staple.

Classic hip-hop album. Great R&B vibes with great writing and rap over the beats

The classroom samples were really cool and furthered the message of love. After looking at the background of the album I had a greater appreciation for Laura and her life struggles. Never really got into soul but I think this was a good introduction

Lauryn is talented as hell

Very cool album

MS LAURYN HILL

sem defeitos

10/10

A fantastic collection of what the 90s hip hop sound was.

Straight fire. Classic through and through.

I FUCKING LOVE THIS ALBUM.

Loved the bits from the classroom talking about love. The album was sonically great, and the lyrics were interesting as well. There was R&B, hip hop, and even some reggae. Cool album, would definitely listen to it again.

Classic

It took me a while to process "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" and decide how to review it, just like it takes a while for Lauryn Hill to show up for her concerts. But regardless of the many meandering journeys Hill's career has taken since the release of this album, it remains a masterpiece. There are a few duds scattered among the 16 tracks, but there are so many standout classics that a boring track or two can be excused. The most interesting thing about "Miseducation," though, is Hill's ability to reach such a peak only to never find it again. There have been plenty of one-hit wonders, but Hill's output with the Fugees and in her solo debut go well beyond one-hit status, but the twists and turns of her career and life have prevented audiences and fans from ever really seeing if she could sustain the success through a second album and beyond. It's fairly common for a musician to have a hit and then fade away, but it feels much less common for a singer to create such a masterpiece and then have no meaningful follow-up.

Her only solo album, and it continues to have more impact and appeal than many other artists have in their entire careers. Your mileage may vary on the brief interludes interspersed throughout the album (I'll admit, I'd rather they weren't included, but thankfully there aren't so many that they become annoying), but my God, there's not a clunker in the bunch of songs. I can't get enough of "Ex-Factor" and "When It Hurts So Bad". Reminds me a lot of Nina Simone, Nenah Cherry and even Joni Mitchell while still being it's own unique thing. This album deserves the praise it continues to receive, and my hunch is a major reason Lauryn Hill never really even tried to make another album is because she knew nothing could top this. By the way, my rating takes into consideration the 2 hidden tracks: the cover of "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" and "Tell Him". They might be my 2 favorite Lauryn Hill songs, and they're what puts the album over the top into 5 territory.

false

Annie loves this one. For good reason. It's a crown jewel of 90s hip hop, right? And, Lauryn Hill is just so cool. Babe too. Sister Act 2 babeliness. Her voice is so great. Raps and melodies. And, just, like, the smoky sound of her voice is so appealing. This record jams. As a musician, I'm inclined to attribute this to her excellent band. But really, it's 80% Hill. She carries everything, including the Fugees. This record makes that clear. Her multi-tracked vocal harmonies are other-worldly. She uses harmony intervals that set her apart from others. Like CSNY and Alice in Chains do. Only with soul and attitude and smokiness. God this is so good.

One of the tip top hip hop albums of all times. Magnificent.

Quite clearly a fantastic album. This time through I noticed the musical flourishes, that are a little tricky to pick up when you’re too busy being wowed by Hill’s seamless transitions between forceful rhyming and soulful singing. I’m talking about that feeling in Lost Ones that the whole song is about to blow up, but the firm hand on the production that prevents it from doing so; I’m talking about the background voices that make Doo Wop (That Thing) sound like a hmm-ing room full of girlfriends. My only gripe, and it’s a mild one, is that I don’t quite feel the album sustains it all the way through, but when it hits it hits hard.

I really like how some of the songs are connected through the theme of a classroom. Overall, album is really solid. Every song is really well made and transitions well between each other. Only problem is it is a little long.

The more concept albums I hear, the less I appreciate concept albums in general. This one still easily falls on the good side of the concept album spectrum, which is refreshing. The production is really nice to me, borders on super slick 90s pop style while still sounding pretty organic and loose. Very good stuff.

Apple's recently announced top album of all time. I had never listened to this record but I've been meaning to. It feels very personal and intimate. Her range on this record is very impressive. I love the themes of love and stuff as well. The snippets of conversations really made it feel intimate. I can appreciate this album a lot but in the end, it's just not really a genre that captivates me.

The album is so human. I don't know how else to put it. It acknowledges and adresses many of the things that influence us, religion, school, our peers, societal constructs. The beats are driving and the songs were written in the context of each other in a way that is missing from many albums. This was a cohesive project and tells a clear (and well articulated) story from beginning to end.

🎧Handful of really amazing songs, but pretty bloated overall. There’s probably a damn near perfect album in here if trimmed down to a single LP. Skits/dialogue are annoying and unnecessary too. Standout songs: Ex- Factor, Doo Wop (That Thing), Everything is Everything.

Yet to come across anyone with such an innate ability to sing perfectly while also laying down? spitting? unleashing? tight af rhymes? lines? bars?

I have heard this CD so many times, so I'm a bit biased. I love this album, i love the vibe, these bass and drum grooves are so good it is just awe inspiring. There are very few albums that can send me away for an hour this is one of them. You can't...not just relax and chill out when you hear this album. Love, God, Friendship, Life, Growing Up thoughtfully expressed expertly, what more do you want in an album. It's a shame this is her only album. Top 3: Killing me softly, Can't take my eyes off of you, Hurts so bad. 5 out of 5

Everything is everything.

Such a classic. Melding neo-soul and hip-hop together in a concept album and it's done so well.

This album really showcases what an incredible talent Lauryn Hill is. She was only 22 and already a huge star from her time in the Fugees. Well-educated and from a relatively affluent background for your average hip-hop artist, her songs nonetheless have a power to them that speaks to real struggles at all economic levels. And damn can she sing about love, too.

Великий альбом

Wow, I'm really impressed. I love such way of producing, composing sounds and interpolating. A very inspirational album for both singers, rappers and producers from nowadays. The biggest artists from our decades keep sampling and reffering to Ms. Hill. A really remarkable thing for me would be an interpolate to "Heaven and Hell is on earth" randomly in the middle of the song. 5 stars with a clear conscience

I already listened to this one a bunch in my teens because of my friends. Lauryn is straight up a goddess. This was a formative album for so many people i know. I wasn't into rap or hiphop R&B back then. But since then i've learned to love it, too.

When this album dropped it changed everything. While female artists had created new frontiers of courage and vulnerability (Liz Phair), this was both poetic and musically powerful. Every song matters and the diversity of rhythm, melody and harmonics is standard setting.

Best Song: Ex-Factor. The latter half of the song, when the vocals start to layer and the choir joins in, is good enough to be spiritual. Worst Song: I Used To Love Him. I just find Mary J. Blige over-sings on this track in a way that clashes with Lauryn Hill's laidback delivery. Overall: Beautiful, soulful album. Lauryn Hill's voice is pure honey. The lyrics manage to be both romantic and anti-romance. Even the clips with the kids are perfect at exemplifying the broader themes of the album.

I like this album. An album to the liberated self

A masterpiece. Hip-Hop, RnB, Soul just brilliant, an album that has lasted and will continue the last the test of time and will influence many more to come. 5 Stars.

Very good, old school hip hop from one of the GOATS

Good

Really glad I finally listened to this classic

already loved this one

Love it

She's super talented and switches effortlessly between rapping and singing in a number of styles. Bit hard to rate this one as I was introduced to this album by my first serious girlfriend, so it's tangled up in my melon heart biz. I did really like the listen through, though. The classroom intermissions felt immersive rather than flow-breaking, like the skits often popular on hip-hop albums from this era. There are some absolute tunes on here, too... Fave track - "Forgive Them Father", maybe? "Everything is Everything" is a contender, and "To Zion" and "Doo Wop (That Thing)" are both very strong too! Fuck it, 5 stars!

yep

Heel goede r en b met mooi love thema en zonder teveel gefoefel heel eerlijk

Always a great listen. Voice is so purely amazing.

Listened on repeat while making dinner and then for some time after. It’s as moving and beautiful and touching and soulful and ground-breaking now as it was almost 25 years ago. We’re all sad she never did anything but this album, but LH can do whatever she wants with her talent, and I’m grateful we got this out of it.

This is a great R&B album. Start to Finish, enjoyable tracks with some great variations in sound and feel. This genre is not my typical listen, but it’s a best in show album.

This is an incredible album. 10/10. 5 stars.

Iconic. Possibly one of the most iconic albums of all time. Soulful, bopping, energetic and refined all at once. Easiest call yet.

Lauryn Hill is insanely talented. She can sing, and she has one of the greatest flows in the game. Her songwriting is textured and deals with more complexity than her contemporaries. This album shows Hill navigating her life, love, the expectations of others, and her own strength to define who she is for herself. This album has already become a modern classic and it’s easy to see why.

Such a great classic album!

All time

American masterpiece

Chika Muito bom

I love this album

Isn't this the girl from Sister Act 2? She made an album? (Just kidding). This is five stars. I don't see how it couldn't be. It's an authentic expression of (what I can only assume is) Lauryn Hill's lived experienced. It's one of those albums that feel like she just made it for herself, but also for everybody. It's gospel, reggae, soul, R&B, and hip-hop all smashed together. She probably could have put out an album an each of those genres and it would have gone to the top, but she combined them in a way that is uniquely hers. You know a Lauryn Hill song within 5 seconds of hearing it.

It is a crime that she never released another album.

This may be one of the most perfect albums made. Between the theme, lyrics, beats, and hooks it doesn’t get more consistent and monumental than this album. Hill created one solo album and it’s arguably one of the best ever made. Such a shame she didn’t do more but what she provided was nothing short of historically significant. 10/10

I can't believe I haven't listened to this before but I will be again. The perfect chill album.

great listening throughout the day

This album made me want to turn on my keyboards and play some soul/r&b all day. Excellent arrangements and vocals

This album is massive, and dense, and really great. It’s not surprising that she hasn’t followed it up yet.

This album brought a flood of teenage memories. I had this album on repeat as background music. The lyrics are so, so personal. And that's probably why they are powerful. Hill doesn't hide anything and lays all of her emotions out for the listener. It's so different than what most girls are taught. She doesn't keep it inside. I remember thinking how brave and crazy that was when I first listened to the album. She vocalizes her broken love in the way you always wish you could have retorted in the moment and still better than what you come up with hours later when you lay awake thinking of what you should have, could have said. Hill's singing and rapping flow together so well. There is no "bad" song on the album. "To Zion" is the love song every mother feels when she meets baby and realizes she has never loved anyone the way she loves that child. And it features Carlos Santana as an added bonus.

Had four listens, it's a bit of a long one and still need to listen more grasp it all. Importantly, every song is great, I prefer the songs with rapping ("Lost Ones", "Doo Wop", "Final Hour") because they flow incredibly well, but the more emotional RnB stuff is really good too. When Lauryn is not rapping she's pushing her voice to its full most of the time, with some very smooth backing. It doesn't just jump between two genres though, because you feel influences from afro-carribean vocals (lost ones, forgive them father) Latin flamenco guitar (to zion), pyschadelic guitar solo (ex-factor), soul/gospel organ keys (ex-factor and every ghetto every city), 90s rap record scratches/skips (throughout) and just excellent bass lines (throughout). There's so much variety, and the skits actually have music in them which really makes them feel more listenable, not to mention that the subject matter is pretty wholesome (LOVE). Shout out to that familiar piano sample in "Doo Wop", Hammond will have to tell me where that comes from.

So good

Thought I liked this one but in listening to it again I think I love it. Never owned this one back in the day cause one of my roommates had it and it was so ubiquitous anyway. But this really is a masterfully crafted album of it's era. Got that "cinematic" Fugees sound steeped in soul. It's impressive that she carries the weight of this long album pretty much single handedly. Though I love Wyclef's The Carnival, this may be the best Fugees solo album. Easily my favorite female hip hop artist and one of my favorite albums by a female artist. So strong, so honest, so intense. Feels deeply personal. She gave it her all on this album. In a class of her own.

cool

Fantastic album, love it! Shocking how small of a discography she has given the huge impact she has had on the world of music.

Soul, hip-hop and reggae Queen. This album feels so spiritual and is arguably the most influential record of the decade on future rap and hip hop artists (see Kendrick, Drake, Kanye, Chance, etc. etc. etc.) Fav tracks: Ex-Factor, Everything is Everything, Doo Wop (That Thing)

A god damned masterpiece, too many good songs to name.